Applied Materials, Inc. (NASDAQ:AMAT) Shares Sold by Whittier Trust Co. of Nevada Inc.

Whittier Trust Co. of Nevada Inc. decreased its holdings in shares of Applied Materials, Inc. (NASDAQ:AMAT - Free Report) by 71.3% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 4,672 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider's stock after selling 11,604 shares during the quarter. Whittier Trust Co. of Nevada Inc.'s holdings in Applied Materials were worth $760,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Crews Bank & Trust purchased a new stake in shares of Applied Materials in the 4th quarter valued at about $28,000. FPC Investment Advisory Inc. purchased a new stake in Applied Materials in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $28,000. YANKCOM Partnership purchased a new stake in Applied Materials in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $32,000. City Holding Co. purchased a new position in shares of Applied Materials during the fourth quarter worth approximately $39,000. Finally, Dunhill Financial LLC increased its holdings in shares of Applied Materials by 61.4% in the 3rd quarter. Dunhill Financial LLC now owns 213 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider's stock valued at $43,000 after acquiring an additional 81 shares during the period. 80.56% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of research analysts have commented on AMAT shares. Needham & Company LLC dropped their price objective on shares of Applied Materials from $200.00 to $195.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, February 14th. Barclays cut their price target on shares of Applied Materials from $200.00 to $190.00 and set an "equal weight" rating for the company in a report on Friday, February 14th. Morgan Stanley reiterated an "underweight" rating and set a $164.00 target price (down previously from $179.00) on shares of Applied Materials in a research report on Thursday, December 5th. Wells Fargo & Company decreased their price target on Applied Materials from $210.00 to $200.00 and set an "overweight" rating on the stock in a research note on Monday, January 13th. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group cut their price objective on Applied Materials from $230.00 to $202.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a research report on Friday, January 10th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have issued a hold rating and sixteen have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $215.38.

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Applied Materials Trading Down 2.0 %

Shares of AMAT stock traded down $3.00 during mid-day trading on Thursday, hitting $147.68. 6,892,582 shares of the company's stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 5,901,115. The stock has a market cap of $119.98 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 19.30, a PEG ratio of 1.81 and a beta of 1.62. The stock has a 50-day simple moving average of $169.05 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $177.34. Applied Materials, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $145.37 and a fifty-two week high of $255.89. The company has a quick ratio of 1.96, a current ratio of 2.67 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.29.

Applied Materials (NASDAQ:AMAT - Get Free Report) last released its earnings results on Thursday, February 13th. The manufacturing equipment provider reported $2.38 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $2.28 by $0.10. Applied Materials had a net margin of 22.95% and a return on equity of 39.50%. Equities analysts expect that Applied Materials, Inc. will post 9.38 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Applied Materials Increases Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, June 12th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, May 22nd will be paid a dividend of $0.46 per share. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, May 22nd. This is a positive change from Applied Materials's previous quarterly dividend of $0.40. This represents a $1.84 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.25%. Applied Materials's dividend payout ratio is currently 24.05%.

Applied Materials declared that its board has approved a stock repurchase plan on Monday, March 10th that authorizes the company to repurchase $10.00 billion in outstanding shares. This repurchase authorization authorizes the manufacturing equipment provider to repurchase up to 8.2% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares repurchase plans are usually a sign that the company's board of directors believes its stock is undervalued.

Insider Activity

In related news, CAO Adam Sanders sold 271 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, February 24th. The shares were sold at an average price of $172.72, for a total value of $46,807.12. Following the transaction, the chief accounting officer now owns 6,479 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,119,052.88. This trade represents a 4.01 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. Corporate insiders own 0.24% of the company's stock.

Applied Materials Company Profile

Applied Materials, Inc engages in the provision of manufacturing equipment, services, and software to the semiconductor, display, and related industries. The company operates through three segments: Semiconductor Systems, Applied Global Services, and Display and Adjacent Markets. The Semiconductor Systems segment develops, manufactures, and sells various manufacturing equipment that is used to fabricate semiconductor chips or integrated circuits.